The law of a country for the people, not a tool to fulfil the personal vendetta of officials. But in Batticaloa a diffrent story ...
by Our Regional Correspondent
Copies of the letters (withheld) received by the Sri Lanka Guardian revealed the dark side of state administrative officials and how certain officers are trying to cynically manipulate the issues for personal gains. This incident reported in Manmunai North Division, Batticaloa where the incumbent divisional secretary is deliberately refusing justice for a family waiting for a piece of land for many years.
 |
| Mr V. Vasudevan |
Land own by P. Jeyatheswaran was acquired by the government to construct the Tsunami Housing Complex by assuring to allocate him an equally valuable land. A few years later he has requested the land assured by the government but the administration was unable to fulfil the promise. However, later the land commissioner has tried to solve it without any further delay.
In a letter dated December 02, 2020, Land Commissioner General Mr Keerthi Gamage ordered the relevant government official to allocate the alternative land for the requested individual. Again in his letter dated February 19, 2021, the land Commissioner sends the reminder to the Divisional Secretariat to solve the issue immediately.
To inquire about the incident, Sri Lanka Guardian contacted the Divisional Secretary of Manmunai North Division, Batticaloa Mr V. Vasudevan where he sarcastically responded by stating that neither land commissioner nor other higher official understood the law of the land. “I don’t think the Land Commissioner Mr Gamage understood this issue correctly due to inadequate knowledge about the legal side of this land dispute. My opinion is that this person (Mr P. Jeyatheswaran) is not eligible to have a land”.
“He is writing many issues on his Facebook, which is annoying me”, Mr V. Vasudevan tried to justify his conducts. But he has ignored to provide further details about the relationship between the land issue and the personal social media activities of the person.
Meanwhile, a senior officer in the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, who asked not to be named, told Sri Lanka Guardian that this whole incident was being used viciously to fulfil personal animosities of local officials.
“The law of a country for the people, not a tool to fulfil the personal vendetta of officials. It seems that these local officials have pointed the middle finger at high ranking officials including the Land Commissioner General in this matter,” he said.
Post a Comment